Back in February, the Law Revue performed a skit in which a young law student lamented, "I just got sucked in. Everyone kept saying it'd help me get a job, it'd look good on my resume, I'd get laid more! But none of that is true! NONE OF IT! Leader, please - tell me what I can do, tell me there is help!" The character was complaining about the misplaced allure of journal membership, but he could have easily been talking about being a lawyer in today's economy.

While some say that the U.S. is poised on the brink of another Great Depression, legal professionals across the country are viewing the current financial state of the industry with dismal expectations. More than 2,149 attorneys have lost their jobs in 2009, according to Lawshucks, a legal blog that keeps track of law firm layoffs with its "Layoff Tracker." Major news outlets such as CNN and The New York Times have also zeroed in on the lawyer's plight, running stories about firm layoffs and alternative career paths for young legal minds.

Practicing attorneys are not the only ones watching the ups and downs of the stock market apprehension. Current law students are realizing their worst fears as their summer jobs and permanent offers fall victim to the free-falling economy. The legal blog Above the Law has been keeping a close eye on the carnage, reporting on each firm's cutting of attorneys in a daily feature called "Layoff Watch." GW students can be seen checking these postings in class, refreshing pages and hunting for their firm's name.

Students have good reason to be worried. In the past few weeks, many 3L day students and 4L evening students have received emails and letters from their firms telling them that their start-dates have been postponed.

While, first-year associates usually begin their tenure in September, firms are quickly doing the math and readjusting their incoming class start dates in order to save money. The duration of time varies, with welcomes being delayed for weeks, months, and in some cases a whole year. According to Above the Law, firms such as Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, and Milbank Tweed have pushed back start-dates to law October, while Morrison & Hartson and Hogan & Hartson have their start-dates in November. First-year associates at O'Melveny & Myers and Latham Watkins are going into work in December, while Nixon Peabody, Chadbourne & Parke and Venable open their doors to newcomers on January 2010. Some firms, such as Cravath, are offering graduates a choice of start-dates, while Pillsbury Winthrop is providing bonus incentives to those first years who are willing to start later than October.

Additionally, graduates who were looking forward to joining Morgan Lewis received notice that the firm was mandating that incoming first year associates defer their start-dates to October 2010. The firm is offering a monthly stipend to those graduates who obtain a year-long job at a public interest organization. However, the problem remains that, with so many attorneys looking for work, the competition for all jobs is intense and openings may be scarce for graduates looking for work this late in the school year.

Understandably, the students interviewed for this article wished to remain anonymous, as the shaky economy has made them apprehensive about the state of their job offers and interviews.

One 3L whose start date has been pushed back said that, while the extra time could be seen as beneficial for vacation, the reality is not so helpful. "I would like to travel or do something like that, but everything I want to do requires money. I really need the job."

Another 3L working at a New York firm learned about the delay over email. "I received an e-mail from the firm informing me that the firm was offering all new associates new options for our start dates.  The new dates were about six to eight weeks later than the start dates we were originally given." The news left him disappointed, but not surprised. "The e-mail came as somewhat of a surprise, but anyone who follows the legal market news could read the writing on the wall.  I knew well-known, top-tier firms were changing start dates and firing associates; but, I was hoping my firm would not be one of them."

Although the delay is not major, he said "it tells me that the firm is feeling the pains of the economy's contraction." He is planning to conserve during the extra-long vacation, and beyond. "As a result, I will not be taking as expensive a bar trip as I was originally thought, and I will probably be packing a lunch a couple more times a week.  Also,  I need to figure out what my living situation will be during those extra 2 months."

First and second year students are also feeling the pinch, as firms shorten their summer internship programs or, in some cases, eliminate them altogether. According to Above the Law, firms across the country such as Cravath, Gibson Dunn, and Kirkland and Ellis, have shortened their twelve week program to just ten weeks. Shearman & Sterling has slashed its program to nine weeks. These moves have been viewed as possible indicators of unstable futures, leading some pending summer associates to fear that they will not receive offers of permanent employment.

A 2L with a pending summer job at a major firm in D.C. recently found out that her summer program was being shortened from twelve to ten weeks. She said, "I definitely don't mind having a longer summer vacation, but it was definitely stressful when we got an email from them saying - we just laid off sixty associates and are in the process of revising the length of our summer program, we'll let you know. About a month later they finally told us how long the summer program was going to be."

She went on to say that many of her friends have had to work harder to find summer positions. "At least two of my good 2L friends who are on Law Review still don't have summer jobs lined up."

Even candidates for non-paying work are being affected by the state of the legal sector. One 2L who had a government job lined up in Arizona suddenly had his offer rescinded over winter break without explanation. "The economy must be really bad if you can't afford free labor," he joked.

Though his employer did not give a reason for the unexpected move, he still feels it is having a negative effect on his own financial status. "This experience does not necessarily make me nervous, because I was lucky enough to have another job secured. I was going to split my summer between these two nonprofits, so I just told the other office I would like to work the full summer. Plus it means I get to stay in DC this summer and not pay two rents. It does however make me nervous about FRP next fall. If things don't turn around, I won't be able to pay back my student loans minus help from LRAP or other sources. Law school was supposed to open doors and I feel very limited in my options right now."

"I feel a lot of people are nervous about their positions for the summer," he went on to say. "Most of us deal with it laughingly and try to hide our real fear, but it's the 800 pound gorilla in the room."

The Career Development Office (CDO) has responded to the news of delayed start-dates and rescinded offers by trying to assist students who are suddenly scrambling to find jobs. On Friday March 20th, the CDO will be hosting an event "Succeeding in a Difficult Job Market." The program will feature Krista Harris Cheatham, a former associate at the now-defunct Heller Ehrman and now a senior associate in the Northern Virginia office of Pillsbury Wintrhop LLP. In an email to Nota Bene, Cheatham noted that the current state of the economy is just as shocking on the other side of the legal fence.

"We are all saying the same thing: we have never seen it this bad.  Natural attrition from law jobs has slowed to a crawl: If you have a job you are motivated like never before to hold on to it.  We all know someone, or several people, who are out of work and for whom there appear to be no ready prospects.  That's the worst part: the idea that there is no where to go."

Though Cheatham said that things may seem bad, she said, "Those of us who have been out of work have learned that we can survive it. And there are some targeted hires happening. Legal employers will continue to need good people at all levels, including at the entry level. It's just that the opportunities are coming fewer and farther apart. To compensate, it makes sense to expand your network and your job search beyond your current geographic area, beyond your current practice area or area of interest, perhaps even beyond the practice of law. Adaptability is key."

Cheatham had some advice for GW students: "For law students whose start dates have been pushed back and who can afford to, I would definitely consider volunteering to work for a year for a public interest, local government, community, or professional organization. You're making a contribution to others, you're gaining potentially relevant work experience and you're exposing yourself to other professionals, areas of law, or areas of service that you otherwise might not have gotten to experience. If you can't afford it, of course, then you do what you have to do, and don't beat yourself up about it. This downturn won't last forever."

Though delayed start-dates and shortened summers could be indications of more rough economic times ahead, most students remain optimistic. The D.C. 2L stated, "Certainly, because the economy is so poor, everyone is nervous that firms might not give out as many offers, or that this uncertainty will make summer associate classes more competitive, and it's hard to say at this point whether those fears are unfounded.  I just plan to work hard, have a great summer, and hope for the best!"

Others are less philosophical. "I know of others who have had negative experiences worse than mine," the New York 3L said flatly. "I have friends who have lost their jobs in this economy and I know 3Ls who are still looking for work with only a few months left in the semester.  I am just happy to have a job lined up with a good firm.  In perspective, it is better to start later than to not start at all."

"I am not any more nervous about the future than I was before I got the e-mail," he continued. "However, it was definitely a reality check."